Another Night
by lovettetherainboweater
Summary: If Lucy wants to leave with her virginity in tact, she's going to have to stop testing Natsu's patience. NO LEMON


**AN:**** Okay. Here's a thing. What thing, I'm not sure. An almost lemon? A grapefruit? Is this a lime? What the hecksy is a lime, anyway? I'm pretty sure this is not a lime... Is it? NaLu is just so perfect and wonderful I couldn't bear to ruin it with my hideous attempt at a lemon, sorry to disappoint (Are people just born with the ability to write good sex scenes. Is it Mendelian division of humanity, like having attached earlobes?) So here's a 3,800 word grapefruit because my life is great and stuff is beautiful. Hope it doesn't suck. Reviews are appreciated!**

Now, being a man (and/or boy) of adventurous nature, Natsu Dragneel has faced some challenging situations; situations that have tested his mind, body, his very soul to the utmost of his capabilities- but none, no horrendous, gut wrenching trial has ever been as bad as this. This? This was pure torture. Agony. A stone's throw from evil.

"Natsuuuu," Lucy whined. Her chin was planted heavily on his shoulder, her body squeezed up against his so tight the tiny zipper on her shirt was digging into his arm. "I'm booooored," she breathed in his ear.

Natsu was not as dense as everyone made him out to be. Sure, he had his dumb moments, but doesn't everybody? Ok, so he had _a lot_ of dumb moments, way too many, really, but when it came to Lucy, his best friend, teammate, wonderful, beautiful Lucy, he never missed a thing. Hell, he was _in love _with the girl, and him noticing _that_ was a miracle unto itself. It just wouldn't sit with the closet deity who bestowed that Earthland shattering knowledge on him to let him miss anything associated with these intense feelings. And in that particular moment, there was a plethora of things not to be missed. The way her cleavage dragged against his upper arm when she shook with a ragged laugh, how her golden hair fell in a perfect halo around her flushed face, and beneath the reek of too much alcohol, that all Lucy smell, like earthy sunshine, positively her, the scent that made Natsu's eyes nearly roll back in his skull when he got even a slight whiff of it.

And he was all but smothered in it.

When you're a dragon slayer, every little sensory detail is intensified tenfold. It would have been hard enough to hold himself back with normal senses, what with the way Lucy is always prancing around in those scraps of cloth she calls skirts, but with the girl so close he can feel her warmth sinking into his skin he was going to snap.

He clenched his fists, fighting off the urge to throw his teammate on the table a fuck her good and senseless. "That's too bad, Luce," he says with a stiffness in his voice he can't quite shake. Lucy doesn't notice. She's too busy trying to rip poor Natsu apart with that long, warm sigh she breaths right on his neck. Gods, he can't even look her in the eyes. One glance into those chocolate gems and it'd be all over for the dragon slayer. A whole partnership, finito, over, done just because he couldn't resist his partner. Why the hell had he let her drink so much? He was a little tipsy himself, but not enough to ignore the depth of her voice when she purrs, absolutely _purrs, _in his ear, "_Why don't you do something about it_."

Now that was pushing her luck. Lucy was already prancing around the edge when she squished herself as close to Natsu as physically possible, but whispering in his ear like that, in that smoldering, melting sex voice is simply suicidal. Natsu simply grunts in response, not trusting himself to speak, in fear something not so PG might just slip out. She sighs again, warm and surprisingly sweet smelling and oh fuck he's slipping.

Natsu was definitely grateful everyone else in the guildhall was too piss drunk to notice anything but whats two feet in front of them, because if Gray saw him walk out with the raging hard-on Lucys building he'd never hear the end of it. In fact, he's almost ready to high tail it to the bathroom to take care of that little problem when suddenly his fantasy and worst night mare has put a good bout of elbow room between them.

" 'm sorry," she says, resting her forehead miserably on the table, "For being clinging, I mean. Had a rough day."

And for the first time that night Natsu's dick exploding is not the biggest of his concerns. He turns to her. "What happened?" he asks.

"Geoff," she said. Her voice was raspy and bitter. Nowhere near as enticing as it was about 30 seconds ago. Jeez, Luce. You've always been so changable. "We broke up. Wasn't pretty."

Natsu grits his teeth at that. Other men don't even deserve to ask this goddess of a gal out, let alone break her heart. She was too good for him, anyway; his mustache was totally creepy. Natsu watched Lucy, fully expecting to have to deal with an onslaught of miserable tears. Geoff the jerk would pay. Natsu would make sure of that. He was in the midst of devising his revenge when a sudden burst of laughter from Lucy caught his attention.

"Huh?" was the most intelligent response Natsu could spit out. He still didn't have enough blood flowing for healthy cognition.

"You should know. It's all your fault anyway..."

Natsu jumped. "What? How?!"

He had a raging jealousy for anything that came within a two meter radius of Lucy, but never had he even considered sabotaging her relationships. He wanted Lucy to be happy, and as corny as that may sound, it was the truth. That he had broken Lucy and Geoff up was news to him.

"You're always-" Lucy sits up to do a full arm gesture at him, "You're just."

"Just what?" Lucy apparently wasn't very articulate when drunk. She was supposed to be the one who could convey everything within the vast limitations of her language. He was just an ass hat when it came to using his words. It wasn't fun when their situations were reversed. In fact, it made him wonder how she knew anything he was thinking ever. Must be hard. Poor Luce.

She puts her head down again, frowning. "You're just you."

Natsu frowned too. He had frowned a lot at the hands of this she-devil. "I think I better take you home, Luce." He should have done that way earlier, really, before her light touches had a chance to snowball into the start of a cheap porno. Did that make him a bad partner? The fact the his problem down south hadn't diminished wasn't soothing his conscience all that much.

Lucy hiccuped, then responded in a mumbled affirmation. Natsu ended up having to carry his torturer home on his back after she took a nasty spill outside the guild. Normally this would've been a platonic gesture of kindness. He'd carried her tons of times before, usually after long missions, or when she just didn't feel like walking that day. But platonic was the last thing he was feeling this night.  
He let out a quaking sigh at the feel of her chest, heavy on his back. Even with a good deal of clothing between them, it still had his blood flowing elsewhere. When they arrived in her room all he wanted was to go home and finish himself off.

"Luce," he said. He tried to remember the last time he sounded so exhausted. Having Lucy around usually woke him right up. Everything was upside down tonight. "I'm gonna putcha' down now."

At this she just grunted and wrapped her slender arms tighter around his shoulders.

"Lucccy," Natsu groaned. He was so not in the mood for this. Not for her games, not for her skimpy skirt, and certainly not for the way he really, truly appreciated her not letting go.

"No," she grunted. Stubborn. She could be such a stubborn kid sometimes. Just make it easy Luce. There's no reason to want to stay up there when you've got a nice, warm, cozy bed two feet away.

"Please?" He didn't mean to sound so whiny. He just didn't want to be in that room anymore. It was too tight. And hot. And humid. Lucy _please_.

He could feel her shake her head against his bare shoulder. Her hair itched.

"C'mon, Luce. It's been a long night and-"

"You're just you," she mumbled into his neck. Her nose brushed the base of his hair, which tickled, but still sent a shiver rippling down his spine. She tightened her arms around him. "What right do you have t' mess with my head? S'not fair. Geoff was a good guy."

Natsu scoffed. Just because he had let the relationship slide did not mean he gave his consent. "He was a jerk. And a pansy."

"No he wan't."

"He was."

She slapped his arm clumsily. The gesture was meant to be threatening, but only served to remind her teammate how shit-faced she was. How badly he needed to get out of that room before he did something that he would surely regret later. Lucy was vulnerable and Natsu wasn't that kind of guy.

Lucy was still ready for a fight. "He was nice 'nd sweet 'nd I deserve a guy like him! But you. You come along messin' with me. Makin' me think you_ liiiiike_ me even though you don't. You're the jerk."

"What does that even have to do with anything?" It's not his fault. It's not his fault on purpose, anyway.

"I've been waiting. 'nd you. You've just been screwin' around with my feelings..."

Natsu's brow furrowed. The gears in his brain shuffling into double time, trying to make sense of all this information. _A lot_ of dumb moments. He mentally cursed himself for not seeing it sooner. It was like the fog had cleared.

"Luce?" His voice was quiet. Out of character for him. He wondered, if she wasn't attached to him, would she have even heard.

"Whatcha want, jerk?"

"I'm gonna put you down."

He had to practically pry Lucy's arms off him, but he needed to ask her a question and he had to ask it eye to eye. That was fair.

"Lucy?"

"mmm."

"Do you like me?"

She was nearly knocked off her feet by the question. She probably should have expected it, though. It was the elephant in the room only she could see, but eventually someone was going to be awakened to it. Over course that someone had to be Natsu. It took her a moment to regain her balance, a moment in which her face went from a nauseous ghost white to a ridiculous shade of red.

"Natsu, don't do this." The shock seemed to sober her up a bit, if only enough to make her see the arbitrary reasons for being stingy with her answer.

Natsu was not having it. He had endured _months_ of heartache over this girl, not to mention a growing number of stiffys- he was pretty certain the girl didn't even _know_ the word conservative. But that wasn't important. What was important was the fact that Lucy was going to give him an answer, and that was that. Fair.

"Lucy," he prodded.

"Natsu, we're partners. This is not appropriate. I- we shouldn't"

"You want to talk about inappropriate? Less than half an hour ago you were practically draped over me!" and just the thought of it made his skin itch and he wanted to just toss her onto her bed and do _things_ to her he had never had the urge to do until she walked into his life and please Lucy the waiting is driving him even more crazy than he already is and that just _can't _be healthy.

"I can't. This is what ruins partnerships, Natsu. This situation right here."

Natsu was about two cents short of losing it. He was very nearly certain Lucy liked him at the very least a little bit more than the painfully platonic relationship she had carved for them and his patience was razor thin. He grabbed her arms with an unintentionally strong force. She would probably have bruises there. It was her fault. She was keeping this from him and he needed to know. _Needed. _This was not an optional interrogation.

"Dammit, Luce. Would you just stop being so stubborn and answer the question?!"

She struggled in his grasp. Had he always been this forceful? Why did he want to humiliate her so much when everything was already so evident from the look on her face? Everything, from their first meeting to the moment she knew she had fallen and fallen hard to that moment, where Natsu had to push her a bit too far and break everything they had built. She was fine with just being friends. Thats how desperate she was, willing to cling to the feeble camaraderie and never ask for more. She felt pathetic, but more than that she felt furious with her partner for driving her into such a dangerous corner.

"Natsu stop. You won't like my answer," she bites her lip, "I can't!"

_I can't_. What the hell did that even mean. Bullcrap. She could and would.

He grabs her face and turns it so he can finally grab her gaze. The nervous look in her eyes almost makes him feel apologetic. Almost. He was about 99% sure Lucy's feeling were on par with his own, a little less intense, maybe ( a lot less, maybe- he was an intense sort of guy), but still there. "Lucy you have three seconds to answer, or else."

"Or what?!" She was angry. He was volcanic.

"Three."

"Wait- Natsu? What the hell are you going to do?"

He didn't know. He'd think of something.

"Two."

"Natsu?" It was an empty threat. It shouldn't have scared her. That look in his eyes, however, told a different story. He looked downright _hungry_, and it was freaking her out.

"One-"

"OK! I am fucking in _love_ with you, you moron! I'm in love with you and you had to push it, you intrusive bastard! I was happy just staying how we were but nooooo! Are you goddamn happy now that you've ruined everything?!" she was very nearly screaming by the end of her little speech. She was out of breath, her heart was slamming he chest and oh gods she had just destroyed their entire dynamic and why was Natsu just standing please say something don't be mad.

"That means yes?" The fury had left his expression. He was blank. Unreadable. Horrifyingly so.

Lucy blinked. "What?"

"You," his voice cracked a bit. Weird. "you said you love me?"

Lucy ran a hand down her face, suddenly as exhausted as Natsu had been before and feeling like the hangover she would definitely have in the morning had already arrived. She wanted to crawl into her bed and cry, not answer any more of Natsu's life ruining questions. "Yeah," she answered, barely a whisper, "I guess I did."

Then there was silence. Silence so thick it hurt her ears. She lived in the city. Cities were filled with noise, life, the sound of things happening, not this mind numbing quiet. Lucy looked at her feet, waiting for Natsu to laugh or call her weird or just leave her there to wallow in shame and self pity all because she fell for the wrong person. He did none of those things. After taking a moment to be absolutely awe-struck by Lucy's sudden confession, he sucked in a breath.

"Natsu?" she said, waiting, wondering. That was it. Just his name on her lips was enough to break him.

In a blur of motion Lucy found her self slammed against the nearest wall with barely a second to gasp before Natsu's mouth was ripping at her own, kissing her like his life depended on it. It did. He was fairly certain that if he had not been as close to Lucy as possible he was going to burst at the seems. His entire body was tight against hers. Personal space was going to be extinct if he had any say in it. He was kissing her, and it took her a moment but then she was kissing him back, all cautious and shy and that was no good. Cautious and shy were the adjectives Natsu least wanted Lucy to associate with kissing him.

He ground his hips into hers and took her gasp of surprise as a chance to shove his tongue into her scalding mouth. It was so warm, like molten velvet. He wanted to know every part of that moist cavern. He wanted a map of it burned into his brain.

Her smell, that breathtaking, brain melting, turn him on in three seconds flat smell was everywhere. It was like a blindfold for his nose. A delicious, dead sexy nose blindfold.

This new fervor was a little bit scary, really. Lucy wasn't sure what she should be doing. Stopping probably. She didn't have all the facts (not even a fraction of them really) and she had prepared herself for heart stopping rejection. She needed a moment to mentally readjust. She also need more of his skin under her fingertips and his hands in her hair, so whats a girl to do?

Natsu wanted to slow down, really he did, to give Lucy a chance to catch up (but by no means stop kissing her) because it was obvious she needed to, but her smell was clouding his brain and he couldn't think about anything, save for how sweet her tongue was. She was still were a little bitter from the drinking, but there was still that underlying decadence that was so amazing and, much like her scent, was driving him over the edge. He ground into her again.

It was all wonder of wonders and absolute magic until Lucy turned her head, successfully pardoning her already swelling lips from Natsu's abuse. He didn't miss a beat, dragging his lips down to her throat, kissing and licking and sucking at every piece of available flesh on the milky column. Lucy pulled at his pink locks to stop him, trying to form some coherent thought through the haze of booze and sudden want.

Of course she wanted Natsu, she was in _love_ with him, after all, but she didn't understand what was happening and it was growing increasingly harder to piece things together with Natsu practically devouring her neck, not to mention his roaming hands sinking lower down her waist with every open mouth kiss to her skin. Then he bit her, hard, his fangs jutting into her skin in a way she knew would leave an angry bruise, and Lucy wasn't even aware she could produce such lewd sounds as the one she had let out, but it was the sexiest thing Natsu had ever heard in his entire life.

"Natsuuuu," Lucy breathed, still pulling at his hair. She had meant for it to sound authoritative, but it came out as more of moan. "Natsu stop."

"Why?" he asked into the junction between her shoulder and neck. He gave that area a luxurious lick before returning to his ravenous pace and good lord it felt amazing -but no. Things needed to stop. Now.

She pried his face off her with a heady amount of strength and the eyes she was met with were so intense she had to look away.

"H-hold on a minute," She mentally reprimanded herself for the stutter. She was not a blushing schoolgirl (although she was blushing, quite a bit, actually), she was a grown ass woman. She tried to think of the proper way to phrase her inquiry but what came out was, "What the hell are you doing?"

And that boy, had the gall, the absolute _gall_ to laugh.

Lucy's jaw dropped. She was flabbergasted. Absolutely flabbergasted.

He was grinning like a moron, Lucy could tell without even looking. She was rather preoccupied with staring at the floor, trying to stop the burning blush rising in her cheeks and maybe catch her breath. She felt like she had just run a marathon.

"I think you know what I was doing, Luce. You sounded pretty into it." He poked her flushed cheek teasingly.

She punched at his chest, weakly. It was all the strength she could muster at the time. "But you were..."

"Yeah," he said, a sudden wave a pride washing over him. He sounded like he couldn't believe it himself. "I was."

"I thought you were gonna walk out or something."

"Why in the hell would I do that?" Natsu had done some pretty stupid things, but none as stupid as that would have been.

"I, I told you that-that I..."

"Love me?"

Lucy swallowed, trying to wet her suddenly dry throat. "Yeah."

"So why would I walk out?"

"...Because you don't feel the same?" She really was certain of anything anymore. It was all very confusing.

It was Natsu's turn to be flabbergasted.

"Are you kidding me, Luce? I've been in love with you since the day we met for fuck's sake."

"Oh," was all she could manage.

"Yeah," he said.

"So we're on the same page?"

"What?"

"You love me," she said hesitantly, unsure, "and I um, lo-... and I reciprocate those feelings."

Natsu was laughing again. Lucy was pretty sure her face was going to burn off. He nuzzled into her shoulder, sighing in contentment, and while the action was embarrassing, Lucy also found it strangely comforting.

"Yeah," he told her, "I guess that's right."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

She pet his head in long, soft strokes. He was like a big cat, really. He snaked his arms behind her, squishing them between her waist and the wall to pull her flush against him. Now that he knew her feelings he was pretty sure he could never let her go again. Physically impossible.

"Natsu?"

He hummed into her skin in acknowledgement.

She hesitated, finding the words caught in her throat.

"Can you kiss me?"

He grinned, a fanged, face splitting smile, because yes, he most certainly could.


End file.
